U.S. deploys land and sea-based missile shield in the Gulf to deter attack from Iran

The U.S. has retaliated to what it sees as Iran’s growing missile threat by deploying a land and sea-based missile shield to protect American allies in the Gulf, officials said.

Barack Obama is dispatching land-based Patriot defensive missile installations in Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain, as well as keeping two U.S. Navy ships with missile defence systems in and around the Mediterranean.

Officials said the move is aimed at deterring an attack by Iran, but it is likely to dramatically increase tensions between the U.S. and Iran after negotiations failed to persuade Tehran to open its nuclear installations to international controls.

A senior administration official told the New York Times: ‘Our first goal is to deter the Iranians. A second is to reassure the Arab states, so they don’t feel they have to go nuclear themselves.

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